Testimonial: The Remember Rufus charity
Remember Rufus is a charity set up by the family of Rufus who was born sleeping at 39 weeks in October 2020. The family set up the Remember Rufus charity in memory of their beautiful son to donate CuddleCots to the NHS Trusts in England and Wales. They have so far delivered 11 CuddleCots to hospitals and are seeking to raise enough funds to donate another 25 more to hospitals.
The testimonial by the Remember Rufus charity:
“On 11th October 2020, our much-loved first-born son, Rufus Harry Jude Key, was sadly stillborn at 39 weeks gestation following a placenta abruption and HELLP syndrome. Rufus was absolutely perfect, weighing in at 6lb 6 and a whopping 51cm, he lived up to his name with beautiful red wavy hair. When we saw his face for the first time our hearts broke and burst with love all at the same time.
When we were told little Rufus had passed away before he was born, we felt totally lost, afraid and confused, we had absolutely no idea what to expect. Our bereavement midwife explained we could have Rufus with us in a CuddleCot and she would help us to make memories with our precious son.
At first, we were nervous, we weren’t sure whether we would feel comfortable having him close knowing he was already gone but as soon as he came into the world our natural parent instinct kicked in and having him close to us was exactly what we needed. I was very poorly after delivery, had we not been gifted this extra time, I wouldn’t have any memories of us being together as a family and so we are eternally grateful for this wonderful equipment.
Because of the CuddleCot, we were able to fulfil some of the dreams we had for our baby, we were able to give him his first bath, dress him in his special outfit, read him bedtime stories – we even took him outside to let the sun shine on his face. No amount of time will ever be enough, but having those extra days together where we could really soak him in, introduce him to our family and cover him in kisses has given us the comfort we needed to start to process the loss of our child.
The CuddleCot was so special to our family that we were inspired to start a charity, Remember Rufus, to donate CuddleCots to NHS Trusts in England and Wales to ensure every family is offered the same opportunities we were, to say the hardest goodbye in a private and safe setting either in the hospital or at home. So far we have donated 11 CuddleCots in just under a year with lots of fundraising planned for the next 12 months.
Thank you for providing a glimmer of light in our darkest time.”